


Going Away to College

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-11-02 06:54:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20659775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack and Alex meet each other on move-in day, and learn a bit about each other.





	Going Away to College

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU of them in college. Title credits to Blink-182.

“Bye Jack, we’ll see you on your fall break,” Mr. Barakat said, giving his son a hug.  
“Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need something, okay,” Mrs. Barakat continued. Jack was a freshman at MSU, and his parents had spent the day moving into his brand-new dorm. He was nervous about some of his classes, but was very excited to be moved out, make new friends, and to start becoming the person that he was meant to be.  
“I’ll be okay, don’t worry. Thank you, guys, for helping me,” Jack said, hugging them both.  
“We love you,” Mrs. Barakat said, before her and her husband walked out of the dorm lobby. Jack went over to the staircase and started the walk up to his room. His dorm building was so old that it didn’t have an elevator. He already knew that walking up three flights of stairs multiple times a day would get annoying quickly. When he finally got up, he walked to his room and unlocked the door. When he opened it, he saw his roommate, Alex, talking to his parents. He didn’t know Alex before move in day, he’d just done the random roommate selection on his school’s housing site. From what Jack could gather, Alex seemed to be really close to his parents, so Jack left him alone for most of the day. He didn’t want to take time away from them, he had plenty of time to get to know him throughout the upcoming semester.  
“I can come back later,” Jack said awkwardly.  
“We were just about to head on. Want to walk us down, sweetie?” Alex’s mom asked. Alex just nodded, then followed his parents out of the small room. Jack grabbed his laptop, then sat on his bed. He noticed how hard the mattress was, but shrugged it off, he wasn’t expecting much better. He went to YouTube, and found some Blink concert videos, then started to watch them. A few minutes later, the door opened up and Alex came back in, immediately sitting in his bed with his phone. Not wanting an awkward silence, Jack turned off his video and shut his laptop.  
“So, do you know what your major is, Alex?” Jack asked, trying to make some kind of conversation.  
“Music,” Alex replied in a small voice. To Jack, it sounded like he’d been crying.  
“That’s cool, I’m a psychology major, myself. What instrument do you play?” Jack asked.  
“I’m a singer,” Alex replied in the same small voice. Jack could tell there was something wrong but wasn’t sure exactly what.  
“Hey, are you okay, Alex?” Jack asked, sounding concerned.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex said, his voice cracking halfway through.   
“Are you sure?” Jack continued.  
“Yeah, I’m-“ Alex cut himself off, putting his hand to his mouth and getting up. He ran out of their room, leaving his key on his bed. Jack decided to get up and follow him and make sure that he was okay. Sure, he didn’t know Alex at all, but he still cared about him, and he wanted to be friends with his roommate. What kind of friend would he be if he didn’t check up on Alex? He grabbed his key and walked down to the community bathroom at the end of the hall. Out of the six stalls, only the handicapped one was locked. Jack could see Alex’s shoes under the door and saw that he was sitting in front of the toilet.   
“Hey man, you don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable with it, but can you maybe let me in? I just want to make sure you’re okay, and try to help you if not,” Jack explained, leaning up against the stall.  
“Are you serious?” Alex asked back.  
“Of course I am. I know we don’t know each other very well, but I want us to be friends. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to help you feel better?” Jack asked. Alex unlocked the door, and Jack walked in. Alex was sitting in front of the toilet, holding his stomach. Jack relocked the door, then sat next to Alex.   
“Are you sick?” Jack asked.  
“No, not really,” Alex replied.  
“What’s wrong then?” Jack continued.  
“Anxiety, it’s making my stomach hurt,” Alex replied.  
“I see. Have you actually gotten sick?” Jack asked.  
“No, I tried to stop it, I didn’t want anyone else to hear it and be grossed out,” Alex replied.  
“Fuck what everyone else thinks. Don’t hold it, that’s not good for you. I promise it’s going to be okay,” Jack assured. They sat in silence until Alex shifted forward. He held his stomach and began to get sick. Jack rubbed his back until he was done.  
“Sorry you had to see that,” Alex mumbled, sounding embarrassed.  
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay Alex. Why don’t we get you cleaned up, then go back to our room and talk some?” Jack suggested. Alex just nodded in reply. Jack flushed the toilet, then helped Alex stand. Alex cleaned himself up, then they went back to their dorm.  
“Come sit over here with me,” Jack said, patting the spot next to him on his bed. Alex walked over and sat with Jack.  
“Now, what’s up, Alex? You don’t have to say anything you’re not comfortable sharing, but I want to try to help you,” Jack explained.  
“I guess I’m just a bit anxious,” Alex replied.  
“About living here? College in general?” Jack continued.  
“I’m really close to my parents, so knowing that I won’t get to see them everyday kind of freaks me out,” Alex explained.  
“It’s okay, Alex. I feel a bit weird knowing that I won’t see my parents a lot now, too,” Jack sympathized.  
“It’s kind of more than that. My brother died when I was younger, which was really hard for me. My parents were a huge help in dealing with that, since we navigated it as a family. It made us really close. They were who I went to whenever I had a problem, I tell them everything. I know that probably sounds lame, but yeah,” Alex finished, tearing up a bit. Jack put his arm around Alex.  
“It’s not lame, I think it’s cool that you guys are so close. Honestly, I wish my family were more like that. We don’t have problems or anything, but we’re definitely not like yours. And, you can still talk to your parents if you feel like you need to, I’m sure they’d be happy to text or call you if something comes up. Also, you can always talk to me. I know we don’t really know each other, and you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it, but I’ll always be up to talk if you need it,” Jack offered.  
“I really appreciate that, thank you, Jack. Sorry I’ve made such a shitty first impression,” Alex replied, wiping some stray tears from his eyes.  
“You haven’t done that at all. I’m glad that we talked about this and didn’t just keep it bottled up. Being away from home will most likely become a lot easier for you as time passes,” Jack said.  
“I hope so. I’m excited to study music here, I just wish I could see my parents everyday and be in my room at home,” Alex replied.  
“I know, I’m going to miss my room, too. But, it’ll make going home for the holidays feel really special,” Jack pointed out.  
“That’s true, I guess. Hey, thank you for helping me feel a little better,” Alex said, making Jack smile.  
“No problem man, you can always talk to me, no matter what. Don’t forget that. I want us to be friends, and friends have to be there for each other, right?” Jack pointed out.  
“Very true. Oh, and you can always talk to me if you need it, too. I’ve been told that I’m actually pretty good with advice and stuff,” Alex explained.  
“When I’m stressed about finals, I’ll probably take you up on that,” Jack replied, making them laugh some.  
“Anytime, I’m glad that I did the random roommate picker, since we got assigned together. I was super nervous that I’d get stuck with some asshole,” Alex admitted.  
“I was too, actually. I’m glad we got paired up. I think we’ll really be able to support each other and stuff,” Jack replied, making both of them smile.  
“This is actually the best I’ve felt all day. Thanks for talking to me,” Alex said.  
“No problem. Now, let’s do something fun. Do you like Blink-182?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah, they’re my favorite band!” Alex exclaimed.  
“Me too! What do you say we watch their live DVD? I have it downloaded to my laptop,” Jack suggested.  
“Sure, that’d be awesome!” Alex replied. Jack set the movie up on his laptop, and they started to watch it. They watched it all the way through, and ended up staying up late talking, even though the next morning would be their first day of their freshman year. Alex still wasn’t completely fine with being so far from home and his parents but having Jack as his roommate and new friend made everything easier.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I wrote this story almost a year ago. I was a freshman in college, and felt how Alex does in this. I wrote this like a diary entry to help myself deal with the anxiety of a new situation, and I hope that it can help someone out there who is anxious about the same thing. I based Alex on myself in this, and I remember it really helping me feel better when I wrote it. I hope you guys liked this, since it was a bit different. Send in requests if you have them! Lots of love, Liv


End file.
